Thursday, February 28, 2013

To say that the news coming out of Washington is bleak would be an understatement at this point. Tomorrow we will pass the point of no return and, unless the GOP gets their head out of their ass, compromise may not be in the cards this time. The only good news from all of this is the "just say no," policy to anything that Obama is for is starting to have dangerous repercussions for the Republicans and some of the smarter individuals are starting to realize just that.
Polls show that if this country nose dives, most will blame Boehner, Cantor and other party heads. And is for that very reason that those individuals have been holding closed door meetings with their counterparts and warning them if they don't get their act together, there is going to be a civil war in their ranks over how things are done from then on.

The major sticking point and, one for which Eric Cantor's office is receiving hundreds of angry calls every day, is the possibility of the House holding up the Violence Against Women's Act. The Senate passed it easily last week as they are not nearly as stupid as some House members who intelligence borders somewhere between Sarah Palin and Terri Shivo. It must have reached some as only nine voted against bringing the bill for a vote. Of the nine that voted against are the usual brand of idiots like Paul Braun and Steve King, both Tea Party retards.
This just in: the bill has passed but with only 89 Republicans voting for it. The Tea Party candidates objected to new laws for the gay community, Native Americans, and illegal aliens that would now be covered under this law. These guys should just wear some white sheets and a hood and be honest about who they are. It will be signed into law by Obama.

But beyond this is the upcoming sequestration nonsense that was caused solely by the GOP demanding cuts without any idea of what the long term costs would be or how they would be implemented. Right now, even without the cuts coming, our economy hangs on a razor's edge. Not that you would know it from the wild irrationality of the stock market and what appears to be a major correction coming down the pipeline.
Massive debt bubbles are forming which could all collapse at the same time. We are looking at a stock bubble, a merger bubble, a tuition bubble, a currency bubble and a derivative bubble that could all burst at the same time, destroying the world economy and leading us into the Greatest Depression Ever. Meanwhile the Dow is inching higher to an all time record, while the economy appears to be grinding to a halt. When these two forces eventually collide, it is going to be a financial Armageddon that may lead to fifty percent unemployment, sky high prices on everything and a stock market loss of over sixty percent. Layoffs will be massive and the government will be caught flatfooted, blaming each other for the mess they both caused and life will be nothing like we used to know it.

I know this sounds terrible but evidence points to a major disaster. While the stock market is rising, insiders are selling off stock at a fifty to one ratio of sell/buy. They are telling their clients buy, buy, buy while behind the scenes they are selling everything off. The last time this happened was 2008 and we all know how that turned out.
And because out government has doing nothing to fix the problems caused in 2008, we are doomed to repeat history once again. The country needs a raise and in an upcoming column I will explain why all the doom and gloom told by the GOP about massive layoffs should the minimum wage be increased is nothing but hot air. Because we are not seeing raises even though companies are sitting on trillions in profits, the economy is dying. A new report by CNBC says that as the price for a new car averages around $30K, most families don't have money to buy one, unless you live in the DC area where the median average is double everywhere else. The reason for this is that government employees have been getting living increase raises for forty years while the rest of us have stagnated. If wages had kept up with the times, the private sector would still be making more than their federal counterparts. Instead they live a good middle class life while the rest of us are paid like slaves. And as we have no money for anything, the economy is failing.
When austerity measures start, the whole house of cards is going to come tumbling down. If people start down that path, rent and mortgages are not going to get paid, credit cards companies will collapse as no one will have any money to pay down the exorbitant debt we live in, banks will fail and the economy goes poof. We are looking down the barrel of a gun while the government is fiddling with the trigger.
There is a distinct possibility of a revolution coming. Don't let it. Stop being part of the problem and contact your Congressman about real solutions. As Cantor has shown, if enough people call, they will change their ways. The alternative is a smoking crater where the country used to be. Your call.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Like a broken record that never stops skipping, here we are, again, facing an economic collapse of own making. Remember the good ole days when people worked together for goals that weren't outrageous, stupid or both. The GOP and the idiot Tea Party, which is still hanging on for dear life, have decided that the only way to save this country is burn it to the ground through austerity measures. The Democrats can't unite in any way, shape or form to counteract the opposite side's moronic behavior and are too busy fighting about gun laws like that is the worst thing we have going on for us right now. I want to bitch slap both parties.
Let's start with the Democrats first. Can we please move past Newtown, CT already? Bad people do bad things. This will happen regardless of the most draconian laws you decide to pass. If you start banning guns, you will have a revolution on your hands. And the reason why is that no one trusts the government any more and with good reason. You lie with impunity at us and expect to believe the this time it will be different. We are not Rhianna. You want to fix things? Start taxing rich people and corporations and put people in jail for stealing billions, perhaps trillions, from taxpayers instead of the worthless slap on the wrist you guys keep doing and letting the bastards keep all the money they took. If I could steal $20 billion and keep all of it with no jail time, I would. And they are. And you are doing nothing to stop it. Time is running out and you guys seem to be running out the clock. This country deserves meaningful change and we are so not seeing it even in the distant future.

Then there are the GOP and the rapidly disintegrating Tea Party. OWS collapsed because they refused to move forward with any demands, because "that's what terrorists do." I so wanted to punch someone everytime some stupid neo-hippie said that between bong hits and the drum circle. What a waste of time that turned out to be, as these "protesters" turned out to be everything the right said they were, directionless, peacenicks more interested in drugs and being lazy than fighting for what was right. Without a political wing, or even an informational spokesperson, this movement was doomed from day one.
Now we have the Tea Party starting to fracture as well as they had a better model, where politics for them was key. It has also led to this mess we are in right now. The Tea Party economic model is one that I believe was invented by a retarded monkey who threw feces at a dartboard to see what they were going to go with. As long as the "I hate Obama," stayed true, all else was fair game.

But many have distanced themselves from this terrorist group, which is what they are as their policies will destroy this country, and the popularity has hovered around Congress approval territory. A quick point of austerity measures that the Tea Party and the GOP are clamoring for: they have never worked. I will eat my hat if anyone out there can give me any example ever in human history, past or present, where austerity measures have worked anywhere on planet Earth. Good luck because I have never been able to find one example where it has and trust me I have looked.
So, the right wants to implement a policy that is a proven failure 100% of the time. The left wants to do band aid repair on a fatal wound. And this is where we are stuck. The only bright spot in any of this is that recent polls say that 45% of the public will blame the GOP for sequestration while only 32% say Obama is to blame and 13% blame both. I am one who leans toward the GOP for being the ultimate douchebags in this.

Sequestration was allowed only to get the GOP to approve a deal that would keep the government running. No one thought the right would be dumb enough to allow to happen and would negotiate instead. HL Mencken said "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." Here, here. He also called the common man a fool which also applies here as the idiot public keeps voting people like Michelle Bachmann, Eric Cantor and John Boehner back into office. As long as we have people voting Republican only without any thought to the consequences we will be stuck in this eternal bicker war between the two sides of the aisle where nothing gets done until the whole thing falls apart.
What will happen over the next few months is anyone's guess as no one really knows the full impact if this thing goes through. What is certain is that millions will eventually lose their jobs, food safety will suffer, airports may be even worse to go through, and parks will close. Eventually this will affect everyone as prices will rise, unemployment will soar and wages will plummet even further, especially at the state or federal level.
So keep voting for morons who have gotten us into this, idiot America and watch the country fail apart. It won't be Obama's fault. It won't even be the Republicans fault. It will be yours. If you want to burn your house down, more power to you. But stay the hell away from mine.

Monday, February 25, 2013

So another Oscars has come and gone and, surprise, surprise, "professional" reviews hated it. I used to be a professional reviewer for a newspaper, a talent scout for several multi-national corporations and have helped produce over a dozen TV shows, films and concert series. In other words, I have worked in the business in various roles and know what I am talking about. And here is my verdict on last night's telecast:

It was the best Oscar show in years.
Seth McFarland was hysterical all night long. I didn't hate the dance numbers. We had some surprise wins. The only beef I would have is that the Bond tribute clip show was terribly edited and somewhat short. Couldn't we have had Roger Moore at least show up to introduce the clip rather than Halle Berry who was in one of the worst Bond films ever? However, she did look fantastic so who am I to complain.

This you would never know from the majority of reviewers who have panned the show, calling it the worst thing since the Holocaust. Really? Worse than Letterman? Worse than the Franco/Hathaway fiasco? I kind of doubt it.
Here's the rub. If a vast majority of the public agreed with the professionals here, I would admit defeat and say that maybe it's just me who really likes McFarland's brand of humor. But according to message boards I have read today from a wide variety of sources from every section of the country, they overwhelmingly loved it. Sure you have a hater here or there, but most seemed stunned by the negative reaction to what most found very entertaining.

One post was from a couple in their sixties who lived in Florida. They had never heard of Seth McFarland before this. Obviously, Family Guy is not in their age group. But they went on to say they found him charming and funny and couldn't understand all the hate. I agree.

From Nikki Finke to Harry Knowles, Seth got blasted in the usual snarky tone I expect from them. But for the life of me I couldn't figure out why. What have these people seen that I missed? The truth is kind of disturbing.
The movie Ratatouille summed it best with the food critic admitting that bad reviews are a lot more fun to write and read than good ones. And he would be right. Heaping praise on a great film is cool but there is nothing better than ripping to shreds some god awful piece of nonsense that just stole two hours of your life. Winter's Bone I am looking at you.

But in the process of searching for the awful review to write, I think it sometimes clouds our judgement. Everyone was ready to hate the Oscars before they ever started because, let's face it, they usually suck bad. So Seth had the cards stacked against him before he even took the stage and when he didn't fly around the room on pink clouds telling the greatest jokes ever told, he was set up to fail.
Only the general public didn't see it that way and that is becoming more and more the norm for reviewers everywhere. They have become so high and pompous on their greatness, they seem to have forgotten that when one reviews anything, their opinion shouldn't be as important as to what the public will think. When AO Scott panned The Avengers he became a footnote for someone who's opinion matters at all anymore.

When I was a model scout with Willimena Modeling we were told don't think of the people we were scouting as someone you are attracted to but rather someone who could model. Trust me, some models who make tons of money are kind of homely up close. Most are stunning however. Reviews should be the same. If some thing is terrible, it's terrible. I don't care how you dress up films like Meet the Spartans or The Bounty Hunter, they suck. But when you start hammering things you don't like, and others might, you are performing a disservice to your readers. And reviewers should take this into account.
I found the Oscars a lot of fun. I am thrilled Christoph Waltz won in a surprise upset. I am not surprised Zero Dark Thirty got shut out and I guess Hollywood doesn't really like the Weinsteins or Spielberg for their meager wins.

I hope he hosts again, and as the ratings were up 20% from last year, he just might. And the critics will hate him again for it.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

While I would give a slight edge to the Republicans this week just cause, the democrats were not much better, thus the unified F you to both sides. There were so many douchebags this week, I wanted to stick my head in a blender and hit frappe. Let's see those runner ups.

1)Joe Rickey Hundley- This guy had a REALLY bad week. A drunken Hundley sat next to a crying baby on his flight and apparently snapped. He said, and I quote, "Shut that nigger baby up." Now that would have been bad enough but wait, there's more. Then, he slapped the baby across the face. So, to recap, Drunkin' Joe called the infant the worst slur possible and then hit him. Wow. He was arrested after the flight landed and I am sure was very popular at the station when he got booked. Then he got fired from his job at an aerospace company meaning he has no chance of working in that field ever again, as a felony baby slapping charge will haunt you forever. This is what his lawyer had to say:

"This has escalated into a racist issue and I want to be clear he is not a racist."
Like that was the worst thing he did that day. This guy's life is over.

2)British Men- A poll on a British website MenKind, released their findings for the least attractive women on the planet. After looking at the results, I came to the conclusion that British men are either blind, gay or both considering some of the stunning females on it. Here's the list in it's entirety:

1.Kristen Stewart

2. Sarah Jessica Parker

3. Lindsay Lohan

4. Denise Richards

5. Kirsten Dunst

6. Mischa Barton

7. Hilary Swank

8. Lucy Liu

9. Tilda Swinton

10. Uma Thurman

Now to be fair, some of those on this list deserve to be there. Tilda Swinton looks like a man. Hillary Swank and Sarah Jessica Parker look like they were raised by horses. Lindsay Lohan appears to be turning into a lizard before our very eyes. But the rest, really?. You think Lucy Lui, Uma Thurman and Kirsten Dunst are ugly? Have you seen what British women look like guys? There's a whole lot of ugly there. Kristen Stewart won the grand prize which is odd because while she may have the acting skills of a gravy ladle, she is still exceptionally hot. And shouldn't people like Oprah, Melissa McCarthy or Callista Flockhart be on this list here instead of Denise Richards or Mischa Barton?
3)Scott Walker- I really, really hate Scott Walker. He has one of those faces I really want to punch. And considering what he is doing to the state of Wisconsin, that urge is growing. He's up for re-election next year and I hope he'll be gone as he has to face the wrath of the unions he's wrecking, the 181,000 Medicare patients he has refused to help and the lack of jobs he swore his policies would create, which of course, they haven't. This Koch Brothers crony even helped pass a law that prevents health care lawsuits from gaining access to information vital to their cases. The reason for this is less money on lawsuits that the hospitals would have to fight otherwise for providing dangerous care to the sickest and oldest in the community. The shield law will allow more nursing homes and health care providers to skirt the law with impunity. Anyone voting for Scott Walker should be be immediately sent to one of these lovely death camps for one month. If they still like Walker at this point, more power to them.

4)The EU- Europe is collapsing due to austerity measures that were never going to work in this first place. There are only two explanations for this, neither reassuring. The most likely scenario is that mankind is too stupid to continue much longer as if you can't see the forest for the trees at this point, there is no hope for any of us. Or, this is all being planned to install a one world government with complete control over its citizens. That one is possible but unlikely. A recession is now throughout Europe, with Greece, Spain and Italy in a depression. Spain is falling apart as mass demonstrations have started to fight against the austerity measures that have done nothing to fix anything except to create more misery and hardship. Spain has a double edged sword as the King's daughter is getting ensnared in a multi-million dollar fraud probe. This is causing many to call for the King to step to down after 37 years of rule as the corruption probe is widening. The world is officially in a recession. The US is in a Depression that hasn't ended yet. That recovery they keep telling us is right around the corner is a lie. With money being printed ala cart, inflation is inevitable. The current currency war no one is talking about is real. Stocks are primed for a fall. And yet nothing is being done. Fabulous.
5)Spring films- No matter how good or bad a series of films are for any given year, the one thing you can count on is that the films that arrive between February and the end of April will suck and suck bad. How is it you have to stuff every good picture into the weekends of the summer and the end of the year so I have to pick and choose which to see but then give me drek that never should have been filmed in the first place all spring? Except for perhaps the Great and Powerful Oz, there's nothing I will be paying to see until the end of March when GI Joe comes out. I liked the first one. But other than that, there's nothing until the summer starts when you cram three movies in a weekend for the same audience. I may not have a business degree guys but I know the term "splitting the audience" better than you apparently. Just because you put something out this summer doesn't mean you should have. Fill a week in March and watch your profits soar.
6)FBI- A new report came out this week showing that these Fucking Bunch of Idiots are even more deranged than I thought. Apparently there have been a rash of sexting going on between agents and drug dealers, pet shootings, harassment charges and other behavior I don't want some asshole with a gun doing. Just when you think things can't get any more embarrassing for these losers, voila, I am proved wrong again.
7)Mayor Bloomberg- Another politician I loathe. Today Mayor Douchebag banned the sale of two liter sodas with pizza delivery. No more pitchers of coke for your kids birthday. No more large alcoholic drinks at bars. Fuck him and his billions. We may be a fat country but this is not the way to solve it. Somebody better beat him next election.
8)The Government- Because the Republicans act like infants and the democrats don't have the balls to discipline them, we have entered into a twilight zone were only the worst ideas are getting through. If Obamacare had a public option, it could work. Without it, it's ultimately unworkable. A new bill has been introduced for Medicare for All but I will eat my front lawn if it sees the light of day. The sequestration is all the talk as it stands to take effect next week and could be devastating to the economy. Millions may lose their job. Airports could be closed along with wicked long lines everywhere else. Parks could be shuttered. Our food may not get inspected. What could go wrong? With no one willing to negotiate at all, mostly the GOP mind you, we are headed for a disaster at the worst possible moment. We are approaching an economic tipping point and next week may be the straw that breaks the camels back. I hope reasonable minds prevail but I have little hope in that. So congratulations Government you are indeed douchebag of the week.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Some Oscar telecasts are as fun to watch as a root canal but this year promises some interesting moments. Both Adele and Shirley Bassey are set to perform their respected Bond Themes and rumors have been circulating that all six former and current James Bonds will share the stage when the Academy celebrates fifty years of Ian Fleming's super spy. That alone would make me watch. The movies this year aren't some of the Hollywood drek from previous years (Trip to Bountiful, Master and Commander and Winter's Bone come to mind) and some, like Beasts of the Southern Wild, were surprisingly good. So let's handicap the nominees and see who will likely win.

Best Picture

AmourArgoBeasts of the Southern WildDjango UnchainedLes MisérablesLife of PiLincolnSilver Linings PlaybookZero Dark Thirty
Argo has all the momentum and easily one of the best pictures nominated. Expect this one to win. All of the films here deserve to be nominated, a rarity as there is always one stinker in the bunch.

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln

Hugh Jackman in Les Misérables

Joaquin Phoenix in The Master

Denzel Washington in Flight

Another no brainer as Daniel Day Lewis will win for Lincoln. Everyone else can shred their speech as they have zero chance of giving one.

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva in Amour

Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild

Naomi Watts in The Impossible

A toss up between Chastain and Lawerence but I have a feeling Lawrence will win in a close race. Zero Dark Thirty pissed off the liberal crowd with the graphic torture scenes that have garnered some suspicion as to whether they were effective or not and that alone may cost Chastain the Oscar. Many have questioned why Naomi Watts is here at all, so that nod has no chance. Wallis is too young. Riva is a dark horse who may pull an upset but that is a long shot at best.

Best Supporting Actor

Alan Arkin in Argo

Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master

Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln

Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained

This could go any which way as different people have won different awards leading up to the Oscars. Hoffman seems unlikely as does Waltz, who just won a couple years back. It's a three way horse race between Arkin, De Nero and Jones, but I give the edge to Jones with Arkin a close second if people thought Argo was snubbed for director. De Nero was good in Silver Linings Playbook but I don't see him winning here.

Best Supporting Actor

Amy Adams in “The Master”

Sally Field in “Lincoln”

Anne Hathaway in “Les Misérables”

Helen Hunt in “The Sessions”

Jacki Weaver in “Silver Linings Playbook

I expect Hathaway to win this hands down. Helen Hunt could be a dark horse for her performance that required her to be completely naked at 50 and still look hot.

Best Director

“Amour” Michael Haneke

“Beasts of the Southern Wild” Benh Zeitlin

“Life of Pi” Ang Lee

“Lincoln” Steven Spielberg

“Silver Linings Playbook” David O. Russell

Affleck would have won had the Academy actually nominated him with only Haneke being the "WTF is that guy doing in this category" nominee. Spielberg will win with Ang Lee a possible upset. The rest are happy to be nominated in what is constantly the worst nominations every year. I swear the people who get nominated in this category are always not nearly as good as people left off.

Best Animated Feature

“Brave” Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman

“Frankenweenie” Tim Burton

“ParaNorman” Sam Fell and Chris Butler

“The Pirates! Band of Misfits” Peter Lord

“Wreck-It Ralph” Rich Moore

Brave has no business being here and I hope to God it does not win. ParaNorman was great and I am rooting for that but I have a feeling it will between Frankenweenie and Wreck it Ralph with the latter taking home the prize.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

The Catholic Church has to admit that the first pope to step down in six hundred years has plenty of people who are going to read conspiracy into this. I would be one of them as this whole scenario they have told us seems as unbelievable as most of the Bible. Soon they will pick a new Pope to lead, with even Cardinal O'Malley from Boston mentioned as a possibility. Many think an African or Latin Pope is possible as those are the only areas where Christianity is growing. When you start to realize that most religions are selling us a bill of goods that isn't true, going to worship each week seems more and more pointless. That is why the less educated areas are the ones still gullible enough to not see these bastardizations for what they are. Religions have lost their way, being more about control than spirituality and that is a loss for mankind. As no religion has embraced modernity in any way, shape or form, they are all ultimately doomed because anything that does not evolve with the times, goes extinct. Just ask the dodo, the dinosaurs or Sally Jesse Raphael.
There has been tons of theories coming out of Italy, some truly outrageous (the Pope has a secret family and kids), some mundane (He's too ill to continue as the Vatican has suggested) and some stupid (he's going to host a new talk show and needed the free time). But besides the whole priest molesting little boys while the Vatican plays three card Monte scandal, there was another one that received the least amount of press I could have ever imagined given the story itself.

Some months back, the Pope's personal valet was arrested and charged with possessing stolen documents. The documents supposedly contained damning information about massive corruption in the Vatican Bank, possibly involving the mob. This was never asked by any media outlet anywhere. They covered the guy getting arrested but not a peep about what he actually took. Incredible.
The highly mysterious death of Pope John Paul 1 also contained theories about his involvement with the Vatican Bank which he was in the process of auditing. No autopsy was ever performed and stories about how and when the body was found vary from person to person. There is also the possibility that the third prophecy of Fatima was about this pope and not his same named successor as the Vatican contends. If it was, it paints a very different picture than the Church has given the vision, naming them as a corrupt entity that will destroy the world. Now that is a prophecy the Church would hide forever.

But the Vatican Bank is back again There is a theory that some Cardinals found out about illegal doings, bribery and money laundering, within the Bank done by the Pope and they used that info to force him from power. It is probably not a coincidence that the former head of the Vatican Bank was fired last May after calling for greater transparency and was even allegedly going to out ties to powerful mob bosses which had been going on for decades. It still didn't stop EU and US regulators from going after the IOR (Institute for Religious Works) which was part of the Vatican Bank and was sited for fraud. They had to pony up $300 million in ill gotten gains and deemed an "insecure risk." If the bank run by the Church is that corrupt, what hope is there for the rest of us?
So the Pope had a major financial scandal, several international non profit's seeking his arrest and a documentary that named him as the sole person responsible for shifting dangerous kiddie molesters around the world, in just one week. I'd resign too. So goodbye "Joey the Rat" as your fellow Cardinals call you, most likely behind your back (that is absolutely true by the way). We can only hope that someone from at least the 20th century is elected because St Malachi says you are the last Pope. If you don't modernize the Church, you will fulfill that prophecy stat.

Meanwhile, a giant sun spot has formed and could hit the Earth in the next 48 hours. Scientists say there is a 45% chance of M-flares and a 15% chance of X rays dousing the earth. M-flares could disrupt communication, even cause black outs if severe enough, while the whole X-ray thing could be a little more lethal. The size of the spot is the same as six earths and is facing us. Joy. We are reaching peak sun spot activity and are overdue for a massive flare that, if big enough, could black out the planet. I didn't know the NBC show Revolution was a how to survive guide.
The sequester looks like it will finally hit the end of the road and around a million people are going to lose their jobs. Mind you, most will be in areas that I think we should be cutting (defense), but we should be finding other jobs that these people can do rather than just giving them pink slips. Instead of ships, can't they be retrained to fix bridges. I hear there is some 70,000 that need work. The country is going broke fast and unless we reign in spending in areas like this, the whole system will collapse. We need solutions fast and instead we have Lindsay Graham bitching about Benghazi, Watergate and the Crucifixion of Christ. John McCain has lost his mind and only seems responsible at all when is talking with his constituents that are even more loony than he is. What the hell is wrong with people in Arizona? There has to be something that kills IQ in the water because that state is filled to the brim with stupid.

The economy is flat lining, most people don't seem to have the brains to blow their own nose and our politicians behave like bratty children. Welcome to the 21st century: Home of the Dumbass and the Douchebags.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

There are major signs that the world economy is grinding to a halt in a way that may echo a worldwide Wiemar Republic moment. For those not versed in history, the Wiemar Republic collapsed under the weight of brutal hyperinflation caused by the same tactics our leaders are doing today. That's right, the same crap that helped fuel two World Wars and a Great Depression is stomping us under their heel again. And some out there are all for it; those that have been deluded, the gullible and, of course, those that want it to happen. Make no doubt, there is some sort of contingency plan for when all of this goes belly up and the end result is another round of a Hitler-like populist that will rise from somewhere and enslave the lot of us. That is what always happens in history, it will happen again and we will be the DUMBEST idiots in the universe if we let it happen again.
We could fix everything easily, as I have discussed in previous posts. But our leaders don't want their gravy train ended and have given band aid remedies to a missing limb. We are hemorrhaging badly and the GOP and their followers are like lemmings over a cliff. Don't believe me? Ask yourself, which side of the aisle is constantly bitching about how high taxes are? If you said democrat, you're an idiot. Here the rub: according to every piece of data out there, the rich pay near nothing in taxes and corporations not only pay nothing, they get billions back in tax rebates. Here's a list:

FedEx
U.S. Profits: $4,247,000,000
Taxes Paid: $37,000,000 (a rate of less than 1%)

Total
U.S. Profits: $163,691,000,000
Taxes Paid: ‐$10,602,000,000

That's right, not one of the above companies paid that so called 35% tax rate that exists only in GOP Congressland, although to be fair, Obama and some democrats also complain that the corporate tax rate is too high as well. Only Fed Ex paid any tax at all and it was a measly less than one percent of their profit. And we wonder why we are broke.

Because of offshore accounts, no tax is paid on most of a multi-national corporation's earnings. If you or I tried that, we'd go to jail. They get praised and sit at the right hand of power. The ultra wealthy have echoed this practice and have hoarded an estimated $30 trillion in stolen funds, with some guesses as high as $300 trillion. Imagine if that money wasn't being stolen from the taxpayers and being used to better all of our lives, not just a chosen few.
However this level of greed is unsustainable and we face two frightening realities: either we will see a total collapse of government and anarchy for the foreseeable future or the rise of a world despot that will usher in a new level of control. Either way it sucks.

The income tax needs to be abolished at this point and a new way of funding government used because this nonsense will bankrupt us any day now. Our tax code is byzantine in method. Our IRS goes after those that cannot defend themselves (like me) and bleed them dry while the powerful go unchecked.

The world is now in recession as seen from the website Investment Watch.

With the disappointing initial GDP releases for Q42012 from Europe out, the “world” as defined by 41 OECD countries across the globe, has plunged into recession.We define “recession” through two alternative definitions for our comparison, either the presence of a single negative quarter-on-quarter growth or the more traditional two consecutive negative quarterly growths. Whichever way you look at it, the number of countries in expansion plunged dramatically between 3Q2013 and 4Q2012.Now this is a diffusion index, with each country receiving equal weightings, and so it appears that 60% seems to be a viable threshold for the definition of “global recession” using the single-quarter definition (black) and 70% is probably the appropriate threshold for the 2-quarter definition (blue).
With many investors getting out of the stock market, a currency war, rising gas prices and plunging consumer confidence, things look bleak. Considering that many places are in a depression like the US, Greece, Italy and Spain (as confirmed again by reading the actual numbers and not government propaganda), the fact that the rest of the world is back in recession is troubling. Austerity measures are making things worse and that's all the GOP wants to do is cut our way to prosperity, which is impossible. We need to spend more where it is necessary and cut worthless crap like a good portion of the military budget. Yes, people will became unemployed and the numbers will rise past what you can hide but sometimes that is a necessity to get where you are going. Sacrifice has to come from all, not just the few you don't like.

The US economy is dying as even the government's cooked numbers say we shrank by .1% last quarter, a number that is most likely much higher. This is with QE infinity and non existant interest rates in effect which are doing nothing as the only way to actually stimulate the economy is put lots of people to work for a good pay. We have gone the other way.
There are plenty of signs that the derivative bubble may be about to burst and when it does, the world economy will explode with it. All bubbles burst. When this one goes, as it has over a quadrillion in loss exposure, it will wipe out all currencies and lead to rampant hyperinflation and societal collapse. After that, who knows. Stop being a part of this and demand our politicians to start acting like adults and FIX the problem. Or, be a Tea Party member deciding that riding manatees is more important than animal rights. That is a real issue in Florida. We are so screwed.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

You've got to give to North Korea and Kim Jung Un, when they screw up they do it Gangnum Style. Just after an ill advised nuke test this past week, a North Korean diplomat had this to say during a disarmament meeting at the UN:

"As the saying goes, a new-born puppy knows no fear of a tiger. South Korea's
erratic behavior would only herald its final destruction," North Korean diplomat
Jon Yong Ryong retorted.
Iran would be proud as it sounds a lot like something they would issue against Israel. Not surprisingly, the reaction was belligerent at best. South Korea threatened military action if they so much as even thought North Korea was going to strike and UN delegates called it one of the most shocking signs of aggression in decades by a rouge nation against a UN member. For a country that is starving and falling apart, blindly lashing out at people that can literally kill you in the blink of an eye is not the wisest maneuver. This region is destabilizing quick. Imagine what the Middle East will be like if we let Iran get nukes.
China is allegedly moving troops and heavy armor to the coastline, perhaps for a war game, perhaps for an attack on Japan over the disputed islands that are strategic for control purposes only. Japan is on high alert over both the Chinese aggression over territory and the North Korean nonsense. This is one of the reasons why everything right now is so fragile.

The Pope's resignation is starting to look more and more suspicious. While the ITCCS claim is still unverifiable, another group working with them has confirmed that they were indeed seeking an arrest warrant against the Pope for crimes against humanity. This is from the Telegraph, a UK paper.

The Centre for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based non-profit legal
group, requested an ICC inquiry on behalf of the Survivors Network, arguing that
the global church has maintained a "long-standing and pervasive system of sexual
violence" despite promises to swiftly oust predators.

The Vatican said it had no immediate comment on the complaint.

The complaint names Pope Benedict XVI, partly in
his former role as leader of the Vatican's Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, which in 2001 explicitly gained responsibility for
overseeing abuse cases; Cardinal William Levada, who now leads that office;
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state under Pope John Paul II;
and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who now holds that post.

Lawyers for the victims say rape, sexual violence and torture are considered
a crime against humanity as described in the international treaty that spells
out the court's mandate. The complaint also accuses Vatican officials of
creating policies that perpetuated the damage, constituting an attack against a
civilian population.

Barbara Blaine, president of the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused
by priests, said going to the court was a last resort.

Now once again, like the ITCCS, they had no real power to arrest anyone and even filing the complaint was unlikely to bring about action as the International Criminal Court has received over 9000 requests since 2002 and no investigation has ever been brought against a world leader, let alone the Pope. The Vatican is, of course, vigorously fighting the charges. Regardless, it does seem likely that the Pope may have been given the heave ho as Papal Infallibility would be destroyed if this ever did go to court and with it, part of Christianity. This story is not going away any time soon.

Adam Lanza's motive was revealed this week was really didn't matter as he WAS INSANE. His motive is irrelevant. By the way, supposedly he was influenced by the Norway shooter who he wanted to beat his death toll. He could just as easily focused his lunacy on Martha Stewart who told him to do bad things when he watched the show while masturbating into a jar of peanut butter. The guy was a raving loon. We don't really need more than that.
While all this is occurring, the economic news is getting bleaker and bleaker. Sales are WAY down, WalMart had it's worst quarter in a decade, big box stores are closing left and right and even Internet sales are down. Meanwhile, gas is rising by the hour, Republicans still want to give us even less because Europe is doing so well right now with the same plan, and people are getting paid less and less.

The world economy contracted for the second straight quarter meaning, by the very definition of the word, we are now in an a official world recession. I know technically, this country has been in a mild depression for years but the rest of the world is now sinking right with us and Europe. A currency war has started with Japan and the US seeing who can outprint the other. Don't forget that this country entered into QE infinity last year and have been printing money in a doomed effort to bring down unemployment and to stimulate the economy. This week in a future column, I will show the numbers for many major companies and how much they paid in taxes. It's not even zero as we gave all of them back billions in tax rebates while collecting nothing. And we wonder why we are broke.
Many are seeing the gold and silver market being artificially held in check which I already explained in a previous post (they use the derivative market to offset gains or loses for precious metals that don't exist except on paper). Sooner or later, these markets may explode for anyone holding physical gold as the paper contracts won't be worth anything when the fraud gets revealed to the public.

The world's economy hangs on a thread and no one cares. We are doing the exact some crap that got us into the mess in the first place and have done absolutely nothing to correct it. Bad things may happen so. Be prepared.

Friday, February 15, 2013

The old adage of "the higher you rise, the bigger you fall," comes to mind with the murder charges being filed against Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympic runner, nicknamed Blade Runner. Let's see those runner ups.
1)LAPD- Chris Dorner finally reached the end of his rope this week when he was cornered in a cabin in Big Bear, California and shot himself before the flames did. Dorner wasn't as well prepared as I would have thought and basically trapped himself. Why did he not have an escape plan from Big Bear after torching his car? Why stay in an area swarming with cops? We will probably never know. What is a bigger question is why the LAPD was recorded by news media as saying "burn that motherfucker down," while in a fire fight with Dorner, and then after the cabin actually burns down, deny that was ever a possibility? Tear gas was blamed initially, meaning it was Waco all over again. You'd think over the last few decades someone would have invented a tear gas that doesn't explode and cause fires. It has also come out that the judge who upheld Dorner's firing is one corrupt bastard with LAPD ties. I still find it odd that he was fired for this while others who do far worse get a slap on the wrist.
2)British Airways- Usually it's some drunken passenger that causes problems, but recently it was flight crew that got drunk and rowdy. During a flight, the first class crew started popping champagne and groping each other. For the people who paid $7500 for a seat, they were understandably pissed as they tried to sleep and had a raucous party going on instead. After a supervisor shut down their booze drinking, they continued to fall all over themselves, and other passengers, while behaving, and I quote, "like spoiled brats." Wow. Last month, an off duty BA pilot was suspended for a second time for molesting a female passenger. Shouldn't he have been fired?
3)NYPD- Yes, the other coast has their share of problems too as a NYPD officer who brutally raped a schoolteacher has been found not guilty, despite eyewitness testimony, DNA and a host of other forensic evidence. WTF? Apparently, NY law says that anal and oral rape are not actually rape but "sexual assault," and the officer was over charged leading to a not guilty verdict on those charges. Must be nice to be behind South Dakota and Kentucky in rape laws. Luckily, he was convicted of sexual assault and rape for two other attacks for which he has received 75 years. Good. I hate rapists and especially rapist cops. Hope he likes prison.
4)CNN- Usually, it's Fox News with some absolutely stupid story that defies logic. This week, it's CNN with the dumbest news caster ever. While interviewing Bill Nye about the approaching asteroid that will pass very close to the planet, and may have been responsible for the meteor strike in Russia yesterday, CNN news anchor, Deb Feyeric asked whether the approaching meteor may have been a result of global warming. Are you kidding me? I expect that kind of question from Gretchen Carlson or Steve Doucey not CNN. Bill Nye was understandable stunned by such a stupid question which he of course he responded, "No."

5)ITCCS- If you've never heard of this group until this week, join the crowd. This European based organization is fighting against child porn and molestation by Church and State individuals, a noble cause. However, this week, they took credit for the Pope resignation by saying they were about to arrest the him for crimes against humanity. This story took off across the Internet with many seeing it as fact. However, when looking into it, I find they have no actual power for any arrest, other than a citizen's one, which really doesn't exist except in some lunatics head. If you try to arrest someone, chances are good you yourself will get charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and a host of other charges. This story is bull and is being used to take credit for something they had no actual input in. Kind of like terrorists who do the same thing. And people, just cause you read it on the Internet, doesn't make it true.
6)North Korea- This week saw them fire off their third nuke test and world wide condemnation. This is what nuclear proliferating accomplishes for all those that say "what's the worst that could happen if Iran gets nukes?" If you think raving loons getting hold of nukes are a good idea and also rally for complete gun control, you are one deranged lunatic yourself. The world is a dangerous place and this kind of activity could lead to the extinction of mankind. Iran cannot be allowed to get nuclear weapons even if we have to go to war to do it. The alternative, as seen in North Korea, is a nuclear war.

7)China- Speaking of war, China is moving troops and tanks to coastal regions, sparking concern that they are readying themselves for an attack on Japan over those idiotic disputed islands. Japan is already on high alert because of the North Korea flare up and have hinted that a pre-emptive strike is possible to protect themselves. This could also be causing part of the troop build up in China as well. This is shaping up to be a very bad year.
8)Marco Rubio- Making the rebuttal speech of Bobby Jindal look classy in retrospect, Rubio did real harm to his chances for higher office by appearing after the Obama State of the Union address as a sweaty, pasty monkey who couldn't go five minutes without a drink of water. It didn't help that everything he said was GOP boilerplate nonsense that the voters rejected soundly last election. They haven't changed a bit which is too bad because the rest of the country has.

9)Republicans- Again playing politics, the nominations for Chuck Hegel has been held up for Secretary of Defense as idiots like Lindsey Graham play politics instead of actually doing his fucking job. Comments on gay rights and Israel have come back to haunt him even though he apologized for the first from fifteen years ago and the latter was only a slight against Israel if you make it that way. They are still grandstanding on the sequester, the budget, and any other nitpicky thing they can. Christ, I hate the GOP.
10)Democrats- Yes, even the democrats get a slam this week as we have several states or individuals who are desperately trying to prove every gun owner out there that they really are coming for your guns. Obama ended his speech on a populist note of demanding a vote on gun control, some of which is good (Background checks for all), and not so good (banning "assault" rifles). Dianne Fienstein is still trying to get her "let's make 90% of guns illegal for law abiding citizens" bill to a vote. The most frightening and dangerous was the democratic Missouri politicians who are trying to pass a bill that would make owning certain guns illegal and subject to confiscation or arrest. Good luck with that. I hope you have a good supply of body bags when your cops come to get those guns because the words "armed insurrection" come to mind. This kind of crap plays right into the GOP hands and gives them a serious wedge issue for the next election and beyond. Stop pandering already and fix what needs to be fixed, like ending the drug war, rather than going after law abiding citizens.
11)Oscar Pistorius- The famed athlete, known as Blade Runner, as he has no legs is no being charged with the murder of his model girlfriend. This has bi-op picture written all over it. Man beats odds to get to the Olympics and blows it all by shooting his girlfriend. Recent reports say he shot her four times through a bathroom door, meaning the poor girl had no idea what was even coming. Local police have reported going to the residence several times for domestic issues, which is hardly a surprise. It makes me happy that my girlfriend and I hardly ever fight and certainly have never had the police arrive. I also know she would never shoot me through the bathroom door. What a way to through away a career. So congratulation Oscar you are indeed douchebag of the week.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Yes it's that time of the year for the State of the Union Address, otherwise known as the sham political speech containing platitudes that will never materialize into reality. This is not just something Obama invented but has been with us as long as I have been alive. I never watch the speech as I find the whole thing stupid and prefer to read the whole address later. The left will prattle on about their vision for the future which will in no way actually look anything like they will actually accomplish. The right will bitch about everything and make sure nothing gets accomplished. Ahhhh, democracy in a world filled with idiots is sure something ain't it? Let's see what was said by all sides
Obama, in the first few paragraphs talked about the "recovery" in the country, a recovery that isn't really happening. He touted the creation of six million jobs, almost all of which are low paying, no benefit ones that don't help anyone to get out of the mess we are in. So far, this speech is everything I expected. Here's some excerpts from the speech:

Tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the American people, there is much progress to report. After a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home. After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six million new jobs. We buy more American cars than we have in five years, and less foreign oil than we have in twenty. Our housing market is healing, our stock market is rebounding, and consumers, patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before.
Our housing market is not much better than four years ago with few buying houses to live in rather than flip. The old wars are ending but new ones are just a heartbeat away. We are buying more cars and our addiction to foreign oil is lower. The stock market is rebounding only due to market interference and not genuine recovery. Homeowners are still getting screwed on a daily basis so that statement is an outright lie.

Together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger.

Yeah right.

But we gather here knowing that there are millions of Americans whose hard work and dedication have not yet been rewarded. Our economy is adding jobs – but too many people still can’t find full-time employment. Corporate profits have rocketed to all-time highs – but for more than a decade, wages and incomes have barely budged.

It's been forty years not ten, dumbass. That's a lot more than a decade.

On Medicare, I’m prepared to enact reforms that will achieve the same amount of health care savings by the beginning of the next decade as the reforms proposed by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission. Already, the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of health care costs. The reforms I’m proposing go even further. We’ll reduce taxpayer subsidies to prescription drug companies and ask more from the wealthiest seniors. We’ll bring down costs by changing the way our government pays for Medicare, because our medical bills shouldn’t be based on the number of tests ordered or days spent in the hospital – they should be based on the quality of care that our seniors receive. And I am open to additional reforms from both parties, so long as they don’t violate the guarantee of a secure retirement. Our government shouldn’t make promises we cannot keep – but we must keep the promises we’ve already made.

I'm all for this except for raising the eligibility age as this will further destabilize the program by eliminating healthier, younger seniors from the risk pool and thereby raising rates.

After years of talking about it, we are finally poised to control our own energy future. We produce more oil at home than we have in 15 years. We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas, and the amount of renewable energy we generate from sources like wind and solar – with tens of thousands of good, American jobs to show for it. We produce more natural gas than ever before – and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it. And over the last four years, our emissions of the dangerous carbon pollution that threatens our planet have actually fallen.

I am all for renewable energy which we should be spending a lot more on development. The main reason we have more natural gas is because of fracking which may be dangerous in it's own right.

But for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change. Yes, it’s true that no single event makes a trend. But the fact is, the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods – all are now more frequent and intense. We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science – and act before it’s too late.

According to people like George Will and other other climate change deniers, the last decade has not been the warmest on record so we can't even decide when numbers are correct. "Are you sure that's a seven and not some upside down four?" asks every climate change denier idiot. There is no doubt the world is getting warmer at this point and any person who is saying otherwise is really no better than the fools who deny the Holocaust or the Moon landing.

Tonight, I propose a “Fix-It-First” program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country. And to make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to move our goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children. Let’s prove that there is no better place to do business than the United States of America. And let’s start right away.

There are HOW MANY BRIDGES READY TO COLLAPSE? Holy crap! Do you know why we haven't fixed any of this yet, by the way? Because the Tea Party morons don't want to spend money "we don't have" to fix anything but would rather pay down the debt first. Incredible. Obama has tried to get money for these programs but the GOP, and particularly the Tea Party, want no part of it. If another bridge goes down remember that next time you vote.

Part of our rebuilding must also involve our housing sector. Today, our housing market is finally healing from the collapse of 2007. Home prices are rising at the fastest pace in six years, home purchases are up nearly 50 percent, and construction is expanding again.

This is an outright lie. Home prices are rising slightly, in some markets like DC, but are still in freefall in places like Detroit and Las Vegas. Purchases are up because no money loans are back which the rich are using to buy houses to flip or rent. Sooner, rather than later, this will have the same ripple effect as 2008. A crash appears to be imminent if this kind of stuff is still going on.

Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship – a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally.

And real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods, reduce bureaucracy, and attract the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy.

In other words, an immigration plan that has no real hope of success as the GOP will gut anything meaningful from it. They like the idea of people with PHD's staying, the rest can starve as far as they are concerned.

But we can’t stop there. We know our economy is stronger when our wives, mothers, and daughters can live their lives free from discrimination in the workplace, and free from the fear of domestic violence. Today, the Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act that Joe Biden originally wrote almost 20 years ago. I urge the House to do the same. And I ask this Congress to declare that women should earn a living equal to their efforts, and finally pass the Paycheck Fairness Act this year.

The House is currently holding up the VAW Act for partisan reasons, causing Eric Cantor a headache as women are calling his office non stop to complain. Good.

Weknow our economy is stronger when we reward an honest day’s work with honest wages. But today, a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $14,500 a year. Even with the tax relief we’ve put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. That’s wrong. That’s why, since the last time this Congress raised the minimum wage, nineteen states have chosen to bump theirs even higher.

Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank; rent or eviction; scraping by or finally getting ahead. For businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets. In fact, working folks shouldn’t have to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up while CEO pay has never been higher. So here’s an idea that Governor Romney and I actually agreed on last year: let’s tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, so that it finally becomes a wage you can live on.

If we actually tie the rate to the cost of living, the minimum wage would be at least $12 an hour not nine but it's a step in the right direction. And contrary to everyone out there who has no idea how economics work, yes less people may be hired initially, but as more people have more money, they spend more which creates jobs, not tax breaks. In the end we all win, except for the uber rich who may make a token bit less. Boo Hoo.

It has been two months since Newtown. I know this is not the first time this country has debated how to reduce gun violence. But this time is different. Overwhelming majorities of Americans – Americans who believe in the 2nd Amendment – have come together around commonsense reform – like background checks that will make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun. Senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws to prevent anyone from buying guns for resale to criminals. Police chiefs are asking our help to get weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines off our streets, because they are tired of being outgunned.

Other than the last statement, I agree with him for the most part. So not a bad speech but not earth shattering either. So how did the GOP do? Think what would happen if the Titanic hit the Hindenburg which cartwheeled into the World Trade Center. It was that bad.

Last time it was Bobby Jindal coming across as an Indian Howdy Doody and sank any hope for higher office for a while. Now comes Marco Rubio and the Gulp heard around the world. My God, I haven't seen someone sweat so bad on camera since the Nixon/ Kennedy debate. Was the air conditioning off? Rubio sweated hard, constantly smacked his dry lips and even had to lunge off camera briefly for some water which made Polar Springs very happy. It was a dreadful looking performance. What about his speech, you ask? Just as bad if not worse. Here it is for your viewing:

Presidents in both parties – from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan – have known that our free enterprise economy is the source of our middle class prosperity.

But President Obama? He believes it's the cause of our problems. That the economic downturn happened because our government didn't tax enough, spend enough and control enough. And, therefore, as you heard tonight, his solution to virtually every problem we face is for Washington to tax more, borrow more and spend more.This idea – that our problems were caused by a government that was too small – it's just not true. In fact, a major cause of our recent downturn was a housing crisis created by reckless government policies.
None of that is true. The crisis was not caused by Fannie and Freddie, but by banks repackaging sub prime loans and passing them off as AAA rated. That is what killed us. The GOP says otherwise, against all the facts as usual. Obama's plan is actually one that could work, while the Republicans seem determined to follow Europe into the abyss with austerity measures that we know do not work.For example, Obamacare was supposed to help middle class Americans afford health insurance. But now, some people are losing the health insurance they were happy with. And because Obamacare created expensive requirements for companies with more than 50 employees, now many of these businesses aren't hiring. Not only that; they're being forced to lay people off and switch from full-time employees to part-time workers.

Obamacare is deeply flawed but only in that it didn't go far enough. If it had been done like it had here in MA, things would much better. By the way, my health care premium did not go up one penny this year. How many out there can say that? And as for the layoffs, companies have been moving people to part time, as it's cheaper, for more than a decade now and are using Obamacare as the scapegoat.One of the best ways to encourage growth is through our energy industry. Of course solar and wind energy should be a part of our energy portfolio. But God also blessed America with abundant coal, oil and natural gas. Instead of wasting more taxpayer money on so-called "clean energy" companies like Solyndra, let's open up more federal lands for safe and responsible exploration. And let's reform our energy regulations so that they're reasonable and based on common sense. If we can grow our energy industry, it will make us energy independent, it will create middle class jobs and it will help bring manufacturing back from places like China.

Yeah because every company ever always succeeds, doesn't it Marco? No one ever goes bankrupt? It is not a waste to invest in new ideas, some of which will fail. We've been doing since the beginning of time and it's called progress. Grow up.

And we agree with the President that we should lower our corporate tax rate, which is one of the highest in the world, so that companies will start bringing their money and their jobs back here from overseas.

Yeah because 0 isn't low enough apparently.Every dollar our government borrows is money that isn't being invested to create jobs. And the uncertainty created by the debt is one reason why many businesses aren't hiring.The President loves to blame the debt on President Bush. But President Obama created more debt in four years than his predecessor did in eight.The real cause of our debt is that our government has been spending 1 trillion dollars more than it takes in every year. That's why we need a balanced budget amendment.

More GOP nonsense, none of which is true. And a balanced budget amendment would bankrupt this country, idiot. The USA is not a business or a home. Stop treating it like those.

Republicans have offered a detailed and credible plan that helps save Medicare without hurting today's retirees. Instead of playing politics with Medicare, when is the President going to offer his plan to save it? Tonight would have been a good time for him to do it.
Excuse me while I laugh hysterically at that. The Paul Ryan Plan for Medicare would destroy it and was voted for by every single member of the House and most of the Senate who are also Republican. Oh and it was hated by everyone who actually read it.We don't have to raise taxes to avoid the President's devastating cuts to our military. Republicans have passed a plan that replaces these cuts with responsible spending reforms.
A plan with austerity measures only. These guys know they did lose the last election right?

The GOP has not changed their message one iota. This dinosaur of a party has little life in it and is only be kept alive at all by old, white fuckwads who should just die already and get it over with it. You're literally killing the rest of us.
So there it is. I know Paul Rand gave the Tea Party response, which is odd as Rubio is a Tea Party member as well. Anyway, I do not care what the man had to say as it will just be more of the same crap that Rubio vomited forth, an action I am surprised didn't actually happen. We are headed for a cliff and these guys are the only ones who stand between us and it. God help us all.